Cool Things August 2022
Sharing the best of what I read, watched, and listened to in the past month.
The dog days of summer are here. The season is coming to a close for just about everybody, and for me, I’m afraid, the curtain’s already been drawn. Tomorrow will be my first day of law school classes. It’s a day I’ve dreamt of—and dreaded—for a long time coming. Here goes!
I told you last month I would let you know about my trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Well, you should know it was wonderful. It has quickly become one of the most cherished memories of my life so far, and I got to share it with people who mean more to me than just about anything. After all, what more can you ask for than to be someplace beautiful with people you love?
We stayed at Lake Gogebic, which is the largest inland lake in the UP, and made the trek to the Porcupine Mountains which sit on Lake Superior. We swam in Lake Gogebic and Lake Superior alike. Both offered the cleanest, clearest water I’ve ever seen. We paid homage to Joe Pera by carving a face into a watermelon and casting it down one of the UP’s many waterfalls. I introduced some friends to camping for the first time (to varying reception), ingested an obscene number of hot dogs, and watched many a campfire burn down to cinders. It was serene and a blessing and almost perfect, if it weren’t for all the mosquitos. Doing a big camping trip with my closest friends from high school and college had been on my bucket list for a long time, and I’m so grateful I got to do it before I moved away from them.
That brings me to the move itself, which I don’t actually want to talk about much, because it has been, by far, the most stressful experience of my life for too many reasons to list. Basically, it felt like everything went wrong that could possibly go wrong, and I’ve been adding items to my to-do list as quickly as I’ve struck them off. I’ve hardly had time to breathe, let alone think, and to be honest, I’ve already gone through a night of crisis where I considered dropping out of law school. This is before classes have even begun! Thankfully, I’m in a much better place now, thanks to the support of several dear ones who were kind enough to check in on me when I was in despair.
With that, wish me luck in the semester, and to all of you starting or going back to school, I wish you the best of luck in yours as well! Here’s the best of what I read, watched, and listened to in the past month.
Things I read
Earlier this month, I revisited this dialogue between bell hooks and Thich Nhat Hanh with the Buddhist sangha that I practice in. I remember first encountering this article soon after Thay passed in January of this year. I was heartbroken at the fact that we had now lost both magnificent authors of this conversation, and one so soon after the other. At the same time, it made me feel honored to get to see their minds interacting to such wholesome detail, and in relation to a topic that has become crucial to me—the importance of building movements for social change into what they call “loving communities.” Do yourself a favor and give this piece a read. I can’t recommend it enough.
I also read the full inaugural address of Gustavo Petro, freshly elected President of Colombia, which Progressive International kindly translated and published in English. Petro has gone down in history as the first leftist president of Colombia, and his rise is a remarkable sign for the left in Latin America and abroad. It’s stories like his that give me hope that better things are still possible in our times. I love the fact that here, again, love made an appearance, and took center stage as a concept with immense political utility—the utility inherent in what Petro calls “the politics of love.” Here’s a quote from his speech I especially enjoyed:
We cannot continue living in this nation of death; we must now build a nation of life, and we will work tirelessly to bring peace and tranquillity to every corner of Colombia. This is the Government of life, of Peace, and it will be remembered as such.
I also read this new piece in Jacobin republishing a 1915 article from Eugene Debs in support of organizing Chicago teachers. As is always the case with Debs, his words are as relevant now as they were then, and the struggle that animated him remains our struggle to this day. The very first picket line I ever attended was an SEIU picket for paraprofessionals in my school district, and I have so many friends who come from school worker families or are educators themselves. Teachers are central to our lives and constitute one of the very pillars of our society, and so the struggle for teachers is the struggle for us all. I’m sure Debs would agree.
Speaking of Debs, this week, I have been constantly thinking back to his hallowed court testimony, specifically those immortal opening words:
Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.
I’ve been repeating his words like a mantra, and they’ve defended my well-being when the myriad stresses of this week have threatened to shatter it. They help me to remember me of the reason I came to law school in the first place: because I know, for a fact, that I was put on this Earth to get people free. I will continue to hold onto Debs’ words as a reminder and a pledge, and permit them to guide me through the challenges to come.
Things I watched
Like most people on Twitter, it seems, I’ve been watching The Rehearsal—Nathan Fielder’s new show—and yes, it’s as batshit as everyone says it is. That’s all there is to say about it really. You just need to experience it for yourself.
The week before I moved, I also watched The Bear, the new FX series set in a failing Italian beef shop in Chicago. Coming from an Illinois restaurant family myself, and having worked in my family’s restaurant through high school (although as a server, never back-of-house), it’s pretty unnecessary for me to state that I loved this show. It spoke to me deeply—so deep, in fact, that it kind of hurt. Although I will push back a little bit against those who deem it a realistic depiction of restaurant life. I think it’s a little overdramatic. Working in a restaurant is certifiably traumatic, but it’s hardly a warzone as the show depicts it to be, although I understand the premise is that The Beef is the most dysfunctional restaurant imaginable. Either way, I definitely recommend giving it a watch, especially as it was recently renewed for a well-earned second season.
Things I listened to
I’ve been listening to a concerning amount of Springsteen. Almost certainly too much. I was recently unemployed and have a penchant for yearning, which is a dangerous combination, and too often results in compulsive Springsteen listening. I’ve been listening to so much Bruce, in fact, that I recently compiled a list of my top ten songs of his. Feel free to give me your thoughts:
“The River”
“Racing in the Street”
“Jungleland”
“Thunder Road”
“Born to Run”
“Badlands”
“Atlantic City”
“Drive All Night”
“The Ghost of Tom Joad”
“Glory Days”
That’s all from me for this month. I’ll be back on the 1st of September with a gatha and on the 7th with a fresh essay. It’ll be tough keeping to my publication schedule now that I’m back in school, but I can handle it. Or I can’t. We’ll have to see. For now, let me leave you with a reminder:
When the mariner, sailing over tropic seas, looks for relief from his weary watch, he turns his eyes toward the southern cross, burning luridly above the tempest-vexed ocean. As the midnight approaches, the southern cross begins to bend, the whirling worlds change their places, and with starry finger-points the Almighty marks the passage of time upon the dial of the universe, and though no bell may beat the glad tidings, the lookout knows that the midnight is passing and that relief and rest are close at hand. Let the people everywhere take heart of hope, for the cross is bending, the midnight is passing, and joy cometh with the morning.